


Her Reign

by Rosecoveredgraveyard



Category: Original Work
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-04-05 07:49:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19044247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosecoveredgraveyard/pseuds/Rosecoveredgraveyard
Summary: Isaiah remembers





	Her Reign

Sleep came few and far between, only worsening due to the summons he’d received from his business partner. It was stress that flooded his veins and burned beneath his skin. Still, sleep found its way to him that night. However, tonight he wouldn’t be dreaming. He would _remember._  
  
Isaiah looked out into the sea of embers that swept through his village. Terrible shrieks came from all around, beasts trapped inside the homes and scratching relentlessly against their bonds. He could hear singing going quiet 1 by 1 as survivors were burned up in the flames. They were the ones who started the fires after the Husks had arrived. They’d used themselves as bait to seal the monsters away and stop them from continuing their savage raid on the surrounding towns. He couldn’t see his parents anywhere. They were burning too.  
  
He became faintly aware of his company when he felt the tiniest squeeze on his hand. That’s right. He’d forgotten about Jamison. He was small, a tiny thing with the biggest eyes. They were wide at the flames as he searched for his singing mother. He could feel his brother’s tears as they swelled in those bright eyes and fell down his innocent cheeks. They were all that was left. Now they had nothing and no one.  
  
All it took was a day and his whole world was turned to ash and rubble. Isaiah was tempted to walk back into town, breathe in the smoke and fire and pick through it all to see who was left, but he knew the risk. The buildings would go out when there was nothing left to burn and they were still like stars buried in the earth. It was almost beautiful in some broken, morbid way. The world around him made his heart ache. Years of cultivating and growing, this town and the people in it turning him into the man he is today. Now here they all are in piles of smoldering ash.  
  
A shadow was cast across the ground from somewhere in the embers. He looked to it, hopeful. They were tall, definitely not either of his halfling parents. Long arms, long hair that shined brilliant orange as the flames licked each strand. 4 thin wings that stretched outwards to either side. They were thin, clear and wrinkled like ruined glass. Their beauty was only slightly overshadowed by the split in her mouth that stretched it into 4 gnashing sets of jagged teeth. Each finger was tipped with long, curled claws that looked enough to slice through his throat in a single slash. His body ran cold and hot all at once. His face turned hard and sharp, his eyes burning fierce as though they’d seen the fire around and absorbed it inside. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. The Husk was standing there, confident and powerful, as though this destruction was just. It reminded him of a worker taking stock of their inventory, waltzing through the halls and ticking off boxes whenever they found something perfectly in place. It made him shiver with rage.  
  
He wanted to run there and beat it with his fists. Tie it to the flames and watch it wither away until it was nothing but dust and dirt. He nearly did. It wasn’t until a sniffle and shake snapped him from his flame fueled fury. Jamison sobbed noisily, moaning about his parents and the heat. He was hungry and scared and alone. Isaiah looked down at him and felt fat tears begin to roll down his own cheeks. It was too much. It was all too much. He reached down and wrapped his arms around his brother, holding him tight and lifting him up to give his feet a rest. Jamison hugged his shoulders and whined into his tattered vest.  
  
With everyone gone, there was a feeling of relief at the pressure of Jamison in his arms. It helped him feel less lonely. Since it was just the 2 of them now it would definitely be a learned experience. Jamie was all he had left. Without their parents, he would be the one to teach him about the world and turn him into. It felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, but he would take this in stride. He wouldn’t squander this second chance. They would never be alone again.  
  
Isaiah woke up and cried.


End file.
